Thunder Rock (1942): Cast & Plot
Thunder Rock is a 1942 war drama directed by Roy Boulting, starring Michael Redgrave as David Charleston, Finlay Currie and Barbara Mullen. It runs 1 hour 52 minutes.
- Released
- Runtime
- 1h 52m (112 min)
- Director
- Roy Boulting
- Original language
-
English - Studio
- Charter Film Productions
- After the credits
- No No extra scene
What Is Thunder Rock About?
The premise of Thunder Rock without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.
David Charleston, once a world‑renowned journalist, now lives in isolation as the keeper of Thunder Rock lighthouse on Lake Michigan, refusing his pay and seeing only the monthly inspector. He imagines conversations with the spirits of a 19th‑century packet ship that sank with sixty passengers, hearing their hopes, fears and stories—a spinster yearning for independence, a doctor exiled for unconventional methods, and his own desperate 1930s pleas about fascism that fell on deaf ears. These imagined dialogues gradually restore his sense of purpose and hope for the future.
Thunder Rock Themes & Keywords
· 50 tags- male police officer
- police officer
- child
- crossing oneself
- overweight woman
- mason and palmer
- hope
- spinster
- ship
- journalist
- fascism
- editor
+38 more Show fewer
- lake michigan
- doctor
- lighthouse
- watching a movie
- world war two
- writing
- writer
- women's rights
- wisconsin
- wind
- whiskey
- wage clerk
- voice over narration
- vienna austria
- uncle niece relationship
- umbrella
- typewriter
- traitor
- train
- theater audience
- telephone call
- tears
- swastika
- surgical operation
- stove
- storm
- storm at sea
- stairway
- spitting
- speech
- spanish civil war
- spain
- sleeping in a movie theatre
- slavery
- ship's log
- sherry
- servitude
- sieg heil
Thunder Rock Cast & Characters
Michael Redgrave leads the cast as David Charleston, with Finlay Currie as Capt. Joshua Stuart and Barbara Mullen as Ellen Kirby. Directed by Roy Boulting; 29 actors are credited in all.
- Director Roy Boulting
- Michael Redgrave as David Charleston
-
Finlay Currie as Capt. Joshua Stuart - Barbara Mullen as Ellen Kirby
-
Lilli Palmer as Melanie Kurtz
Also Starring in Thunder Rock
· 25 more- James Mason Streeter
- Miles Malleson Chairman of Directors
- Andreas Malandrinos Italian Police Chief (uncredited)
- Barry Morse Robert
- A.E. Matthews Mr. Kirby
- Vi Kaley Old Woman in Cell (uncredited)
- Gerard Heinz Dr. Hartmann (uncredited)
- Tony Quinn Office Clerk
- David Keir 1st Magistrate (uncredited)
- Bryan Herbert Flanning
- Frederick Valk Dr. Kurtz
- Tommy Duggan Office Clerk
- Olive Sloane Woman Director
- George Carney Harry
- Arnold Marlé President of the Medical Society (uncredited)
- Bernard Rebel Italian Passenger (uncredited)
Show all 29 cast members Show fewer cast members
- Raymond Rollett 1st Judge (uncredited)
- Victor Rietti Doctor (uncredited)
- Sybille Binder Anne Marie
- Milo Sperber Mr. Hirohiti (uncredited)
- Jean Shepeard Mrs. Briggs
- Frederick Cooper Briggs
- James Pirrie New Pilot
- Alfred Sangster Director
- Harold Anstruther British Consul
More from Roy Boulting
More films directed by Roy Boulting: Soft Beds, Hard Battles, Mr. Forbush and the Penguins, There’s a Girl in My Soup and Twisted Nerve.
Thunder Rock Plot Summary
What happens in Thunder Rock from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 12 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 3-minute read.
Spoilers ahead
During the late 1930s, David Charleston is a driven campaigning newspaper journalist who openly challenges fascism and Britain’s policy of appeasement. He seeks to alert readers to German rearmament and the dangers of ignoring events in Europe, but the editor silences his reports. Frustrated, he resigns and embarks on a country-wide speaking tour under the banner of the slogan:
Britain, Awake!
Yet the public response is muted; crowds chat through newsreels and drift away for snacks, signaling a complacent mood as ominous developments unfold. Charleston senses that his homeland would rather sleep through looming peril than confront it, a realization that hardens into a resolve to seek a safer distance from a world on the brink.
Full summary
The whole story of Thunder Rock, scene by scene
How Well Do You Know Thunder Rock?
9 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.
Question 1 of 9
- Question 1: not answered
- Question 2: not answered
- Question 3: not answered
- Question 4: not answered
- Question 5: not answered
- Question 6: not answered
- Question 7: not answered
- Question 8: not answered
- Question 9: not answered
What profession does David Charleston have at the start of the film?
Seen Thunder Rock?
Movies Like Thunder Rock
Films with a similar story, tone or audience, including Thunder Afloat, Voice in the Wind and Thunder Road.
Thunder Rock FAQ: Cast, Runtime & Release Date
Runtime, release date, director, cast and post-credit scenes of Thunder Rock, each answered in a sentence.
How long is Thunder Rock?
Thunder Rock runs 1 hour 52 minutes (112 minutes).
When was Thunder Rock released?
Thunder Rock was released on December 4, 1942.
Who directed Thunder Rock?
Thunder Rock was directed by Roy Boulting.
More films by Roy Boulting Who is in the cast of Thunder Rock?
Thunder Rock stars Michael Redgrave as David Charleston, Finlay Currie as Capt. Joshua Stuart and Barbara Mullen as Ellen Kirby, among 29 credited actors.
Does Thunder Rock have a post-credit scene?
No. Thunder Rock has no extra scene during or after the credits.
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